While Roberts' run ended in Kentucky, her friends wanted to make sure that she reached Portland. Whether they ran, walked or rode bicycles, they accumulated miles to make sure that she reached her goal in spirit.

Hundreds of thousands of miles later, they raised thousands for the Ulman Cancer Fund and now look to raise spirits. The 28 team members from that run to Portland have come to run Baltimore's marathon.

"She really did inspire people the way she wanted to, which was really amazing," Johnson said. "It really is true that 'stranger' wasn't in her vocabulary. It's just a friend she hadn't met yet."

Even before picking miles at the Baltimore Running Festival, donors have racked up enough mileage to stretch Roberts’ journey beyond Portland and to the moon -- some 200,000 miles away.